The Basics
What year did Christopher Columbus first arrive in the Americas?
1492
What ocean did explorers have to cross to reach the Americas from Europe?
The Atlantic Ocean
What were the three main motives for exploration?
God, Gold, and Glory
What were the native people called that explorers met when they arrived?
Indigenous peoples or Native Americans
What did explorers use to navigate the seas?
A compass and astrolabe
Who was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from the New World?
Vasco Núñez de Balboa
What route did explorers hope to find through North America to reach Asia?
The Northwest Passage
What did European nations hope to gain from colonizing the New World?
New trade routes, land, and wealth
How did exploration affect Native American populations?
Diseases and conflict greatly reduced their numbers.
Who first created accurate maps of the New World’s coastlines?
Amerigo Vespucci
Which explorer claimed Canada for France?
Jacques Cartier
Which explorer’s crew was the first to sail all the way around the world?
Ferdinand Magellan
Why did Spain send missionaries to the New World?
To convert Native Americans to Christianity
What was one positive exchange between Europeans and Native Americans?
New foods and goods (like horses, corn, and potatoes)
Why were North and South America named after Amerigo Vespucci?
He recognized the land as a new continent, not Asia.
Who searched for the “Fountain of Youth” in Florida?
Juan Ponce de León
Why did Columbus call the native people “Indians”?
He thought he had reached the Indies (Asia).
What economic system encouraged nations to gather wealth and trade to gain power?
Mercantilism
What was the Columbian Exchange?
The transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between Europe, Africa, and the Americas
What did explorers often rely on before accurate maps were made?
Stars, compasses, and written logs from earlier voyages
Which English explorer was the first to map much of the U.S. East Coast?
John Smith
Which explorer traveled down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico for France?
Robert de La Salle
Why did England begin exploring later than Spain and Portugal?
They were dealing with internal conflicts and lacked early sea power.
What was a major cultural misunderstanding between Native Americans and Europeans?
Different views on land ownership and use
What was one major challenge in mapping new lands?
Unknown geography and inaccurate measurements from early tools